VICTORY over their closest rivals in midweek has put Barwell FC in the box seat in the Evo-Stik League First Division South and the P word is back in the vocabulary of fans at Kirkby Road again.

After the 2-0 win at Kidsgrove on Tuesday, even manager Jimmy Ginnelly hinted at a second successive promotion when he praised a rearguard that has only been beaten once in the last five matches and built a nine-point lead at the top with a game in hand.

“Our defence is league championship standard at the moment and long may it continue,” he said.

Speaking of the team as a whole, the Canaries’ boss added: “It was a fantastic performance, we played very well but we had to as the officials were poor and having seen Robin Van Persie’s sending off, I feel the same as Arsene Wenger did.”

Barwell had the influential Jamie Towers dismissed early in the second half for allegedly elbowing Kidsgrove’s Craig Dove but Ginnelly was incensed at the decision.

“It was disgraceful. It was an innocuous challenge, the ball was in flight and he went for a header, he just jumped up. Jamie had been a marked man all night, it was obvious they had targeted him to get him off.

“Unfortunately he had been booked in the first half for another 100% tackle and with the first challenge of the second half the ref showed him a straight red.”

Barwell are at home to Lincoln United this weekend, then entertain Market Drayton Town on Tuesday before going to Lincoln on Saturday week.